AARP won't leave me be!

AARP
Originally uploaded by riblet.

Hey, doesn't AARP stand for American Association of Retired Persons or something like that? I won't deny it, I'm getting older, but this is ridiculous! I'm nowhere near retirement age! So I do have a birthday coming up. No set plan yet on how I want to celebrate my dirty thirty, but it might include at least 2 of the 7 deadly sins.

Hmm, what else is new? I was at the mall last week with my niece. She's 14 now and it's so weird that I can totally talk to her like an adult now. So anyway, we went into Bath and Body Works and I swear I found the reincarnation of one of my favorite '80s fragrances, Electric Youth! It's B&BW's new pomegranate line and it reminds me of reading teen magazines and obsessing over the Coreys.

Uh, food? I love it. Shout out to Leon, who made a delicious winter mushroom stew last night using one of the best cookbooks ever, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (thanks sabrandall!). Soooo meaty! But in a non-meat kind of way. I stuffed myself silly with it.

More on food. I've been discovering the joy of podcasts and subscribed to two of them about food alone! Hidden Kitchens, which is a NPR show, is my favorite. I've also taken a liking to Good Food, which comes out of NPR affiliate, KCRW in LA. I like their farmers market report at the start of the program that tells you what's in season. I'm also checking out the podcast of the call-in portion of the Splendid Table, which inspired me to make up this easy dinner:

Sautee a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) with some minced garlic and shallot untill the chickpeas begin to brown. Watch that garlic! Don't let that brown. Pour in a can of diced tomatoes and their liquids. Add some italian-type spices. Simmer a little until much of the liquid is reduced. Spoon over some cous-cous (I made my cous-cous with butter and broth) and dinner is done. And if you make whole weat cous-cous, I think you have a complete vegetable protein there.

Rick Bayless loves my people

IMG_1465
Originally uploaded by strzelecki1.

I don't know who these chicks are (whoa, is the one on the left missing an eye?!), but the cabron in the middle is Rick Bayless. This guy is all about Mexico and mexican cooking. He has two restaurants in Chicago. I went to one a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Lately, I've become addicted to his show on PBS, called Mexico One Plate at a Time. He does most of the show on location in Mexico, showing you the culture and typical dishes of a particular region, then he does a little cooking lesson in his kitchen at home. If you can get past his creepy little voice and super white whiskers, the show is pretty awesome. It totally makes me want to visit Mexico again. I really want to check out some of his books.

Bourdain watch update! The third season of No Reservations started like three weeks ago or something and I forgot to mention it. Oh, Tony! I am so glad you're back. Don't worry baby, this Rick guy means nothing to me.

The Way We Were

OMG. I can't believe how excited I am to send away for my free Puffins pedometer. Big shout out to the Sunday paper Shopwise coupon section! Sigh. I think I'm mourning my old life again.

Well, what else is new? Ira is getting tall, or should I say long? He can't exactly stand on his own, so I guess that makes him long. Almost every outfit we have for him is too short in the legs. He's rocking this incredible high-water style. You almost can't knock him for it because he wears it with such confidence. Sweet kid. He's taken to writing raps already. They're kind of raw because he's only 3 months old. Here's one:

My name is Ira and I like to rap
I take a nap
and then I take a crap

Like I said, it's not much, but he's writing about what he knows and that's what counts! What kind of raps were you writing at 3 months?

Mush

Snow Baby
Originally uploaded by bugbiteme.

It's been a long while. So hard to blog with a baby in one arm. Here's what's been happening:

Ira has been getting really fun. He's so much less like a fetus and more like a baby. He's smiling tons, holding his head up and sleeping really well. Except for today. Today he's been a horrible sleeper. He hasn't napped longer than an hour all afternoon. I feel like I've been entertaining this baby the whole day and I'm beginning to run out of material here. We're singing songs, going for car rides, taking walks...it's not really working. Hopefully my second string walks through the door soon.

Last weekend we went up to Tahoe. Baby's first snow trip! He did fine. I just strapped him to my chest and he stayed warm and cozy.

Hmm, what else? Cooking. I made a recipe out of Vegetarian Times last night. It was a near disaster! Our oven crisp black bean flautas broke all apart. Luckily, I was able to save a few of them. Oh well. Lesson learned: When life deals you bunk flautas, make tortilla soup.